Outside experts said that while it is not uncommon for the SEC to pursue cases with a religious angle, it was unusual to see a fine assessed against a church as large as the Mormon church, which represents roughly 1% of Americans, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.
Some attorneys cautioned that most asset managers are not encouraged to hide their investments, and the unusual arrangement could limit the potential impact of the settlement beyond this case. However, it could have implications for other religious groups or charitable organizations that might also want to play down their investment coffers for donors.
“The only likely potential developments might be additional investigations into other non-profit and charitable institutions, like universities.”